1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to ice shielding devices for removing ice dam buildups from roof eave edges and, more particularly, to such a shielding device which employs a resistor coil assembly incorporated within a rubberized mat design for melting ice dams at selected locations along the eave edge.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Examples of ice melting and shielding devices for use in proximity to a roof eave are well known in the art. A first example of such a device is illustrated in the commercial product advertisement entitled Electric Roof & Gutter Cable and which teaches a first length of a heat convective cable which is secured by clips along a roof eave edge and which works in tandem with a further length of likewise heat convective cable laid within an adjoining gutter and downspout. The first and second cords are connected directly to a 120 Volt, weatherproof outlet with appropriate grounding and function to prevent the formation of ice upon pitched roofs, gutters and downspouts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,786,563, issued to Tiburzi, discloses modular ice and snow removal panels with gutter exclusion valves for removing snow and ice and which includes a series of panels aligned in end-to-end fashion along a roof eave and atop the edge rows of shingles. The panels each include internally arrayed heating elements and an electrically operated valve element proximate a lower edge for the purpose of channeling melted ice and snow either into or over a conventionally secured gutter.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,184, issued to McKenna, discloses constructing the roofing shingles with embedded heating elements and interconnecting the shingles electrically by virtue of laterally extending and snap fit tabs which enclose one or more electrical conductors. Numerous solar powered devices are also disclosed in the prior art for melting ice formed upon roof eaves and examples of such include U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,402, issued to Dupre, U.S. Pat. No. 4,432,341, issued to Howe et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,444, issued to Sell et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,684, issued to Loveless, Jr.
A further novel device for removing ice and snow accumulations from roof eave edges in mechanical rather than heat convective fashion is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,027, issued to Bonerb. The Bonerb device discloses a flexible and inflatable sleeve which is arrayed along the eave edge, atop the initial row of shingles and gutter, and which is responsive to an external supply of pressurized air to inflate and to forcibly shatter the ice accumulated thereon.